Chapter 36 - Murder

"What do you think you're doing?" Jackson asked, his deep voice resounding just beside her ear.

Halia realized Jackson was standing just behind her, his chest almost touching her back. She could feel his warm breaths on the back of her ear and panicked. How was she going to explain this?

Halia quickly smiled and turned around, "I got bored, so I decided to look around. I've never been in a man's apartment before."

Jackson still had his right hand on the door handle, so there was only a slight gap between his body and Halia's. All he had to do was take one step forward and they'd be touching, but he kept his distance.

Halia glanced down and noticed the man had nothing but a towel wrapped around the bottom half of his body and blushed a little.

"I think you should put some clothes on, you're going to catch a cold."

The man smirked. "I need your help," he said as he pointed to his left arm.

"I'll go get you some clothes then," Halia said as she scurried off to his wardrobe.

Jackson watched as Halia disappeared into his bedroom and raised one eyebrow. He then checked the door on his study room; the door clicked but did not open. "Good, it's still locked," he thought.

He then headed into his bedroom to look for Halia.

...

Meanwhile, back in the Houhai area, in one of the hutongs near the club, a dead body had been found. Police were called to the scene by an anonymous caller and were analyzing the crime scene.

There were no weapons present, but it was obvious that the victim had been stabbed in the chest. In fact, there were multiple stab wounds. Due to the storm that had started, the police were trying to cover the scene with umbrellas, but blood was already being washed down the small alleyway, turning the floor red.

As it involved a murder, senior detective Murray Yang was called to the scene. As he approached the dead body, it was like he was walking up a bloody red carpet.

As he walked over to the dead body, he kneeled down and looked carefully at the man's face. "It's him," he said under his breath. He recognized the man.

"Is there any CCTV footage in the area?" he quickly turned and asked his subordinates.

"No sir, nothing," a young policeman replied.

"What about witnesses? Do you know who reported the crime?"

"The hutongs were empty at the time and none of the residents said they heard anything. Perhaps, they're too scared to get involved. As for the phone call, it came from an untraceable source," the policeman explained.

The detective shook his head. "This is going to be trouble," he sighed.

...

Inside Jackson's walk-in wardrobe, Halia was carefully picking out a set of pajamas for the injured man. She knew it would be easier for him to wear something with buttons on the front, and due to the storm, she was trying to find something that was a bit warmer.

Jackson stood in the doorway of the wardrobe and looked at the concentration on the woman's face. Her every move made his heart thump. It was such a simple gesture, yet it was nothing that anyone had ever done for him.

"I'm getting cold, are you going to take all day?" he laughed.

Halia jumped a little in surprise and quickly walked over to him holding a set of pajamas. But, she couldn't leave the wardrobe because he was blocking the doorway.

Suddenly, Jackson took a few steps forward and Halia instinctively backed up against one of the drawers. The man stared into her eyes and she felt a little nervous. How long had he been standing in the doorway? Had he been looking at her like that the entire time?

Suddenly, the man began to lean forward. "What is he doing?" Halia thought as she stood frozen in place. Her heart tightened and her breathing stopped.

Was he about to kiss her?!

Jackson's lips inched closer and closer. They were getting so close, she could feel his warm breaths on her lips and it sent tingles down her spine. Her mind was telling her to push him away, but her body stood still, like she had been paralyzed.

At that moment, the man pulled open a drawer behind her and pulled something out. "You forgot to get me underwear," he laughed. He then stood up straight holding the little bundle in his hand with a cheeky smile.

Halia blushed, "I'm not putting your underwear on for you!"

"Come on, nurse, I'm sure you've done it a million times before," Jackson replied as he placed the clean underwear on top of the pajamas in Halia's hands and walked out...